BEIRUT: Beirut Port has resumed 100 percent of its operational procedures for shipping and discharging, newly appointed Director-General of Beirut Port Bassem al-Kaissi said Thursday, despite large parts of it being flattened in the Aug. 4 explosion.

"We have summoned the owners of sunken ships and insurance companies within a maximum period of 24 hours, so that we can withdraw all the rubble at the required speed, Kaissi was quoted as saying by local media.

His comments came after a meeting attended by representatives of the French Army present in the port. The French Army had been brought in to assist the Lebanese Army with the removal of rubble and sunken ships.

Damage from the port explosion is estimated at around $15 billion across Beirut, President Michel Aoun had previously estimated.

Lebanon, which is heavily dependent on imports, relies on container ships to bring in items ranging from refrigerated food cargoes to clothing and other consumer goods.

Beirut's container port has an annual average capacity of just over 1 million TEUs (20 foot equivalent units), in comparison with Tripoli's 400,000 TEUs, which could be enlarged to 600,000 TEUs and a maximum of 750,000 TEUs if more cranes are installed, according to shipping data.

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